Cullen Hall of Gems And Minerals

The Cullen Hall of Gems And Minerals in Houston, Texas’s Houston Museum of Natural Science sports a world class collection of 750 gem and mineral specimens. The darkened room sets off brilliant crystalline gold samples, along with a 2000 carat crystal emerald, the largest found in North America.

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The Dragon
The Dragon
Gold Closeup
Gold Closeup
"Ausrox" nugget
“Ausrox” nugget

The Houston Museum of Natural Science traces it’s origin back to 1909. The gem and mineral collection was an early addition to museum, donated by John E. T. Milsaps—a devoted mineral and fossil collector who amassed a large collection by the time of his death in 1932, despite his failure to strike it rich when he joined the Dakotas gold rush. In 1995, acquisitions from Ed and Ann David Collection in New Jersey and another from the Bernus-Mane Collection from Spain sparked a complete reworking of the Cullen Hall of Gems And Minerals, elevating the collection to world class status.

Today, the museum hosts 2 million visitors a year.

Emerald
Emerald
Cavansite
Cavansite
Elbaite & Quartz
Elbaite & Quartz
Blue Fluorite
Blue Fluorite
on stone
on stone
Rhodochrosite
Rhodochrosite
Pyrite
Pyrite
Golden sapphire brooch
Golden sapphire brooch